Jacke's POV
"Do you remember the story of Kronos and his Sickle?"
"I do, but I'm sure you'll remind me anyhow."
"After Uranus had cast Gaia's children, the hundred-handed ones and the cyclopses, to Tartarus so they would never see the light of day again; Gaia, understandably, wasn't too happy about that. So, Gaia created what was known as a 'Great Stone Sickle', and her son, Cronos, castrated his father. Hence, he called them 'Titenes' or Titans, for committing such an act. He saw it as them overstepping their bounds, and thus, 'Cronos' Scythe' came to be. I don't think it was mere chance that you were drawn to this weapon, you desire to slay your old flame, the Bruja, so you may live peacefully with your new family. This weapon will ensure your success in that regard, but a word of warning, from the Spiderman movies: With great power, comes great responsibility," She said as she handed the scythe to me, almost instantaneously, the weapon shifted and changed in response to my being, "I think she likes you, take that as a good sign, and go forth."
With that, I picked the weapon up and shifted its form to that of a 2-headed coin, and slipped it into my pocket. She was perfection, manifested as a weapon, and I wouldn't disrespect such a gift. Jameson and Damien followed me out of the store, and up the stairs back outside towards our truck, time to go to the warehouse; Or so I thought before Alex called.
"Hey Pup, your boys just showed up, and I've gotta hand it to you. You really know how to show a girl you care, they've made this process go by so much quicker. Your boys in blue are watching the gates, while the boys in red are helping everyone move their stuff into the trucks, my people could learn a thing or two from you guys."
"If they get out of line, call me, I'll get them back; Even though I doubt that will be necessary, my bonus is their holy grail," I said before putting the pedal to the medal, and racing down the road towards the warehouse, "Anything else I need to know?"
"I love you, Baby, that's about it. I've got to get back to work, talk soon, okay?"
"Sounds good," I said before hanging up and plugging my phone back into the stereo, and funnily enough, '¿Viva La Gloria?' was playing. One song that I always enjoyed listening to, and it had even more sentiment, now that we'd found Milo and Gloria.
"So, we've got the gear, we got the resources out to help Alex with her end, what happens now?"
"Now, we go and meet the troops, test their strength and such."
"Do I get a chance to play?"
"Jameson, the last time you asked that you went on a rampage in Japan, so I'm going to say no here," I said as we pulled up to the warehouse, and went inside through the double doors; Inside, I was met by over a thousand men and women, mingling amongst themselves, but all was quiet when we walked in. I could only imagine what they saw as us, an unholy being of wrath, an ascended monk, and their leader...this was a setup for a horrible joke.
"So, who's a guy gotta kill to get a chunk of Mousakka?"
I was not expecting the chuckles, I definitely wasn't expecting the roars of laughter that followed, but I was glad I still knew how to ease the tension before training. If there's one thing that I knew, there was a bond between a leader and his followers, the people that followed were to be respected for they gave their faith to the leader, and the leader was to show respect to his people, in exchange for complete and utter obedience and following of orders to the letter. Unfortunately, shit happens, and so if the plan goes south you have to improvise, luckily, I knew just what to do here.
"You're all wondering why I have you gathered here today, why I would call upon you to fight a seemingly impossible foe. A force you simply cannot comprehend, simply because you are mortal. This song I play symbolizes the gift I give to those who survive this war. I want each and every single one of you to kneel, and in a sense similar to prayer, ease your mind. Have faith in me, and feel my energy, match it if you will fight by my side."
Of course, I played 'Immortalize' and sang the song with every fiber of my being, extending my faith towards them as they would to me. As the song played, many men fell, rejecting the energy, but for every man that did another man and woman resonated with it twofold. This was power, true power, the ability to show others what you have to offer; Only for them to resonate with your energy and raise you twofold. As more and more men fell, even more, stood and glared at me with the same gaze I gave them: Pride in myself and my abilities, Wrath against an old foe who seemed impossible, Lust for power, Gluttony of knowledge, Greed of their personal belongings, Envy of what others had that they did not, and Sloth. They rose and I couldn't be any more proud of them, they passed with flying colors, and as the next song played something Miraculous happened.
The song 'Bloodthirster' played, and the ones who passed sang, pouring every ounce of emotion they had into their words. Expecting a response from us, the worthy few. I signaled for Jameson and Damien to step forward, and we matched their energy with our own. A standstill that neither side would win, they were with us, not against us. They sang as if their livelihood depended on it, and it was then and there, as our energies meshed into a single entity that I knew what they did not.
"KNEEL!" I commanded as my people kneeled with us, and before us the energy we had produced manifested in a unified being, an entity of raw unadulterated energy. I knew this one and knew what he was capable of.
"Arise."
He spoke only one word yet all of us stood in an instant and looked at him with awe, no one spoke a word, he just sat there reading the room. After a moment, he turned to me and asked a simple question.
"What's your name?"
"Jacke, I'm the leader of the gathering you see before you, this is Jameson and Damien, my brothers. May I ask yours?"
"I've gone by many names, most recently I've been referred to as 'The Golden Child of Ice', I quite like that name. You can call me Mallow."
"Very well, Mallow. What would you ask of us?"
"Why have you manifested me here? What purpose do you serve?"
"I'm arming my people, getting them ready for a war against La Bruja, my old love."
"So, the hunter seems to know the fear of the hunted. What would you have me do?" He said, a warm smile creeping upon his face, and I was almost shocked; Yet I knew better than to show fear, he wouldn't be amused by fear in the face of war.
"Help us ready my men, they must know how to fight, how to let the fire within rule their actions without fear, yet with a careful thought process."
"Controlled chaos, I see, it's good to know that this specific breed still grows within this world. I will aid you in this regard, yet only to gain your aid in a mission of my own."
"Why me?"
"Not just you. You three," He said in a cold tone, pointing to me and my brothers. This was a deal, he scratches our back, and we scratch his.
"Damien?"
"I sense no evil in his spirit, only misunderstanding, he's achieved a form of ascension I cannot comprehend."
"Jameson?"
"Do it."
"We accept, Child of Ice."
"Then let's get started," He stated before moving to one side of the room, and pointing for us to arrange ourselves on the other side. Something told me this wouldn't be a simple game of Dodgeball, but we were ready to play.